Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

She wants money, she wants to earn lots and lots of money.

"Waiter," Shi Xinyi beckoned and opened the menu, "Add another order of pan-fried foie gras, a black truffle mushroom soup, a roast duck, and a clear beef rib soup. For dessert, two Napoleons."

Shen's mother smiled and stopped her.

"Xinyi, don't order too much. We can't eat that much."

"Auntie rarely comes back to Haishi, so you have to try the local specialties." Shi Xinyi closed the menu and handed it to the waiter. "Chen Zui and I have eaten here twice already."

Shen Huiting sat there with her eyes downcast.

Song Xianglan picked up the teacup and gently blew on the steam.

"Has Huiting been staying home with you these past few days?" Song Xianglan asked casually.

With so many people around, Mrs. Shen didn't say much. "Yes. I miss her too. I want her to stay with me for a few days. At our age, we're always worrying about this and that."

Song Xianglan nodded. "I miss Tingting too. I only wanted her to go to university, but she insisted on getting a master's and then a doctorate."

Yao Hong listened intently.

It seems that in this world, you can't do anything without money, but even if you have money, you still need to be resourceful.

The dishes were served one after another.

Yao Hong clumsily picked up the knife and fork, mimicking Shi Xinyi's actions.

She cut off a small piece of beef and put it in her mouth, feeling that she had never eaten anything so delicious in her life.

After we ate dessert.

The bill was brought over.

Shi Xinyi took out cash from her bag and handed it to the waiter.

Mrs. Shen wiped her mouth and turned to look at Shi Xinyi and Yao Hong. "Xinyi, you young people have something to say, take Huiting out for a walk. It's a rare opportunity to go out and have some fun, don't rush home. My mother-in-law and I also have our own things to talk about."

Shen Huiting's face paled. "Mom, there are still things to do at home. Jianguo is busy at work and can't take care of the children. The children can't be without me..."

Shen's mother's face instantly turned cold.

She grabbed Shen Huiting's wrist.

"You're a mother, and so am I," Shen's mother whispered through gritted teeth in Shen Huiting's ear. "I also feel sorry for my daughter. Do you have to stab a mother in the heart like this?"

Shen Huiting stood frozen in place.

She didn't dare look into her mother's eyes, her voice pleading, "Mom, I really have to go back. It's been too long since I've been home. I don't know what's become of the children without me."

"They will live well." The veins on the back of Shen's mother's hand stood out.

Yao Hong's eyes darted around.

She's a woman who grew up in the slums of the lower class; she's seen more filth than she's eaten salt.

When Shen Huiting entered the room, her submissive and cautious demeanor, coupled with the thick bruise around her eye covered in powder, made it clear to Yao Hong what was going on.

She was beaten by the man and dared not utter a sound.

Even when her family wanted to support her, she was terrified.

A typical soft persimmon.

Yao Hong stood up and hooked her arm around Shen Huiting's. "I heard a new bar opened on Wutong Street, and they have all-you-can-eat foreign liquor. Let's have a few drinks since we've eaten at a foreign restaurant today."

Shen Huiting tried her best to shrink back.

"No, no, I don't drink. I can't drink."

Yao Hong did not let go.

She turned her head and winked at Shi Xinyi.

He raised his free hand and gently rubbed it against the corner of his eye.

Shi Xinyi's mind was racing.

She immediately understood what Yao Hong meant.

"Let's go, Sister Huiting." Shi Xinyi took Shen Huiting's other arm. "I just got back to China and haven't checked out any bars in Haishi yet. You can keep me company."

"I really can't go..."

"You can go." Yao Hong exerted force, half-dragging and half-pulling the person out. "I also have two daughters at home. The children are more sensible than we think."

The two men, one on each side, dragged and pulled Shen Huiting out of the restaurant.

A cold wind blew in from outside the door.

As Shen's mother watched her eldest daughter being dragged into a taxi, her straight back suddenly collapsed.

She didn't say a word the whole way. She followed Song Xianglan back to the hotel room.

As soon as the door closed, Shen's mother collapsed onto the sofa.

She covered her face with her hands, and tears streamed down her face, one big drop after another.

"Mother-in-law," Shen's mother's voice shattered, "What sins have I committed? It's all my fault, I've ruined her life."

Song Xianglan poured a glass of warm water and placed it on the coffee table.

He sat down next to her without saying a word.

Shen's mother's face was covered in tears.

"It's my fault for raising me. Back then, I was constantly bullied by my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law in my husband's family. For the sake of family harmony, I swallowed my anger."

I also told the children that they should be generous and not hold grudges against their family members.

They all witnessed my past actions of enduring humiliation, and now Huiting is being verbally abused by her mother-in-law and slapped by her husband. She's following my example, learning nothing but to endure.

Shen's mother cried so hard she could barely breathe, pounding her chest.

"I should have been braver back then. When my mother-in-law was making things difficult for me, I should have just flipped the table. Even if I couldn't talk back, I should have maintained my dignity. Why should I just put up with it?"

She gritted her teeth, "My husband has never even touched me. When my mother-in-law scolded me, he saw it when he got home from get off work and argued with his mother."

Not long after, they found me a place and dragged me out. "I'm lucky, how come I didn't raise a daughter with a tough life?"

Song Xianglan pushed the water glass forward a little.

"Have a sip of water. Getting angry is bad for your health."

"Huijun is lucky." Mother Shen looked at Song Xianglan with red eyes, "She married into a family like yours. You are a reasonable mother-in-law, and Xiangdong is kind and caring. Even her sister-in-law is on her side."

But the family my eldest daughter married into wasn't large, and their members were incredibly cunning. Their lives were like a palace intrigue drama from ancient times.

"I heard your eldest son-in-law is a factory office director?" Song Xianglan asked.

"A nobody deputy director. The factory isn't doing well, and he's got a bad personality, so he's been sidelined." Shen's mother cursed.

Normally...

This well-mannered lady would never say such a thing.

"That's a reincarnation of a Tyrannosaurus Rex," Shen's mother gritted her teeth. "He gets upset at work, comes home, drinks a couple of drinks, and starts throwing a tantrum. He curses his boss for being blind, his colleagues for being cunning, the neighbors for laughing at him, and his classmates for being sycophants. If Huiting tries to reason with him, he gets slapped across the face."

"Don't try to persuade me." Song Xianglan's face turned cold.

"If you don't try to comfort your mother-in-law, just yell at her." Shen's mother's tears flowed even more fiercely. "She yelled at her for not caring about her husband, for not feeling any pity when her husband is suffering. She's caught in the middle, getting beaten by both sides."

Song Xianglan snorted coldly.

This family truly embodies the principle of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

"I went back to Haishi this time to confront my in-laws. I said a few harsh words, and she pulled me out first, afraid that I would go and fight that beast."

I practically dragged her back to her parents' house for a few days. She kept telling me how worried her children at home wouldn't have enough to eat.

Mother Shen laughed in exasperation.

"Her eldest son is in junior high school, and her daughter is in sixth grade. These two boys are going to starve at home, aren't they? She's not worried about the kids going hungry; she's worried about her husband being neglected and scolded. She always tries to influence people with love."

Song Xianglan knew everything perfectly well.

The Shen family members all have a bit of the weakness of traditional literati in their bones.

It's only because Shen's mother has been in contact with him a lot in recent years, watching him curse and beat people every day, that his temper has grown stronger through this exposure.

Think back to your previous life.

Shen Huijun married Xiang Dong and was bullied half to death by her wicked mother-in-law.

Having been given a second chance at life, Song Xianglan dotes on Shen Huijun as if she were her lifeblood.

Song Xianglan scoffed, picked up her cup, and took a sip of water. "Your daughter is worried about you. How are you going to hold her accountable? Lecturing them? Saying you shouldn't have hit my daughter?"